Awkward Feelings
by Gyaradosmaster
Summary: Sequel to Hospital Visit. Raimon has won the Holy Road and Shindou is back from the hospital. However he starts feeling weird around Akane and he has no idea why is that. He asks Kirino for advice and he offers a simple solution to his problem. And where does Kariya fit into all of this? Read this story to find out! AkanexShindou!
1. Chapter 1

Okay…I decided to write a sequel after the great feedback the first story got. It should be quite obvious that I don't own Inazuma Eleven and I hope you enjoy! Also if the dialogue at the beginning feels familiar…it's supposed to be as it's taken straight from episode 45, since this takes place during that episode.

….

''Nice pass Tenma!''

''Great shoot Kurama!''

''You won't get past me!''

Similar sentences and compliments were flying around as Raimon team continued their practice. Despite the fact that they won Holy Road and managed to bring back real soccer, all of them still felt the need to practice.

''I can't believe this team is now number one in Japan when they were once on the verge of falling apart.'' Haruna said happily as she and the managers continued to watch them practice.

''I was right on the mark with them.'' Midori said causing all other females to look at her confused. ''I knew these guys would accomplish something big.'' Midori said proudly, but no one seemed to believe this. Akane giggled softly while Midori looked annoyed. ''Why're you laughing, geez.'' Midori said annoyed as Akane kept giggling.

''But that doesn't really sound like something you'd say.'' Akane said, but she finally stopped giggling. She looked down at her camera and frowned a little. ''I hope that Shin-Sama returns soon.'' Akane said. She hadn't seen Shindou personally since her visit to the hospital. Of course she saw him at the finals, but he seemed to only focus on Tenma then. Midori smirked a little since this was another opportunity to tease Akane.

''Aww, It's so cute that you're missing your boyfriend.'' Midori said with a teasing smirk. As she predicted Akane started blushing profusely while Aoi smiled a little. She like many others knew that Akane has a crush on Shindou and that Midori likes teasing her about it.

''W-what? S-shin-Sama isn't my b-boyfriend.'' Akane said with her blushing increasing every minute. She couldn't even imagine how it would feel if Shindou hugged her, let alone dated her or…kissed her. Of course she had dreamed about that couple times, but that didn't obviously count.

''So you didn't confess during that hospital visit after all?'' Midori asked. Akane had refused to tell her what transpired during her visit so she had suspected that something was up.

''No, I…'' Akane started to say, but stopped mid-sentence since she noticed that the training had stopped and all members were looking towards something with smiles.

''Seems you're all hard at it.'' Akane recognized that voice instantly. She rose from her seat immediately to look at what others were looking and she started smiling once she saw that Shindou was back.

''Shin-Sama is back!'' Akane said happily as she prepared her camera to take a picture. However once she focused her camera, she noticed that Shindou seemed to be looking straight at her. It was hard to tell from the distance, but to her it looked like he was staring right at her. Even when others arrived at his side he still seemed to stare at her. ''S-Shin-Sama is staring at me.''

Midori looked between her and Shindou, but Shindou had stopped looking at her direction and was now talking to the team members. ''What are you talking about? He's looking at the team.'' Midori said. Akane looked back at Shindou to see that he was indeed doing that.

''But he did stare at me…I'm sure of it.''

''Of course he did.'' Midori said sarcastically. Akane had daydreamed about Shindou couple times before, so she wasn't surprised that she would think that he was staring at her.

Shindou's POV

''I know. I won't overdo it.'' I said after Kirino had told me to take it lightly. It felt great to finally be back at school and on the soccer field. However it was also great to see her again. _''She's been haunting my thoughts ever since her visit.'' _I thought. Obviously I was thinking about Akane. Ever since her visit I've had these…weird thoughts about her. I…

''We'll get to play soccer with you again. I'm so glad.'' Tenma's sentence snapped me out of my thoughts. I had to stop thinking of Akane for a while or I couldn't pay attention to the conversation.

''I'm glad too. We've got nothing to hold us back now. We'll all get to play real soccer from now on.'' I said and smiled a little. This sentence seemed to satisfy everyone and I returned to my thoughts. I could see Tenma's mouth moving, indicating that he was saying something, but I tuned him out. I know he would say something soccer-related so I didn't really need to listen, no matter how mean that sounds.

I quickly glanced towards Akane and as I predicted, she was staring right at me. I could once again feel what I felt during her visit. I still didn't know why every time I saw her nowadays my heartbeat would get little faster and I would have hard time to not to blush.

''It's good to have you back again.'' Tenma said and bowed.

''Yeah.'' I said back. There really wasn't anything else I needed to say to that. After that most of the members started telling about their thoughts about the soccer club and all of them were pumped to win Holy Road next year. I was excited about next year's Holy Road as well, since I couldn't play in the finals of this one.

''So Captain, do you want to play soccer with us now?'' Tenma asked excitedly. I would love to play soccer immediately, but Fuyuka-Sensei had told me that I shouldn't do it as soon as I got out.

''I think I'm going to watch first. Show me how much your soccer has improved since finals.'' I said and headed for the bench. I could hear the team say yes in unison and run back to the field, but I didn't really pay much attention to that. I walked to the bench where Haruna-Sensei greeted me with a smile.

''Welcome back Shindou-Kun.'' Haruna said, but I just nodded back to say to her that I appreciated the sentiment. I then turned to face Akane, who looked nervous and refused to keep eye contact with me.

''Hey Akane.'' I greeted her and she managed to reply with a meek hey. Both of us remained quiet after that for a while until I focused on her camera. ''Can I see the pictures you've taken?'' I asked and she handed me her camera without a word. I took it and the obvious happened. Our fingers brushed and my heart skipped a beat. ''Thanks.'' I said and sat down on the bench.

To be honest I was disappointed that Akane herself hadn't reacted when our fingers brushed. _''Why would I be disappointed about that? Why does she make me feel so…good?'' _I thought as I just barely paid attention to the pictures.

End of Shindou's POV

''Why're you suddenly so nervous?'' Midori asked from Akane. She was used to her being nervous around Shindou, but this time she had only said one word to him.

''I…I don't know. I was just surprised that Shin-Sama talked to me.'' Akane said. Luckily she was good at keeping her voice down, so Shindou wouldn't hear their conversation.

''That's only a good thing. C'mon, talk to him!'' Midori said and pushed her towards Shindou. However since Akane hadn't expected this and Midori's push was little too forceful this caused Akane to crash right into Shindou. The camera Shindou was holding dropped to the ground and instead his hands got occupied by Akane's shoulders.

''A-Akane.''

''S-Shin-Sama.''

To say that their position was awkward would be an understatement. Akane was basically leaning towards Shindou. Shindou's hands on Akane`s shoulders were the only thing stopping the two of them from falling completely on top of each other. However that wasn't the most awkward part. Their faces were merely inches apart and their lips were close to touching each other. Their eyes widened and both of them started blushing, though Akane's blush was more visible.

''_Wow, she's so close that I can smell the scent of her hair…it's almost enchanting. And her lips look so…What am I thinking?! Get a grip Shindou! You should be pushing her off, not admiring how pretty she looks up close.'' _Shindou thought. He knew that he should push her off, but his hands refused to cooperate with him.

''_Wow...Shin-Sama's eyes look so hypnotizing up close. If only I had the courage to lean in and kiss…No, I couldn't. He would definitely push me off and never talk to me again. I should just push myself off.'' _Akane said, but when she tried to do that, she couldn't. Shindou's grip on her shoulders was too strong so the only way for her to get out of this situation is if Shindou pushed her off. Though she hoped that he wouldn't do that.

''Heh, look at those two.'' Midori said and elbowed Aoi slightly while pointing at Akane and Shindou, who were blissfully unaware that they were being watched. Aoi turned to look at the two of them and smiled slightly.

''Good for Akane.'' Aoi said with a bright smile. Suddenly Midori smirked at her and nudged her playfully.

''Should I do the same to you and Tenma someday?'' Midori asked mischievously. Aoi looked at her shocked, but there was a faint blush on her cheeks.

''W-What? Tenma and I are just friends!'' Aoi said flustered, but Midori didn't look convinced.

Neither Akane nor Shindou had moved from their position. Both of their hearts were beating so fast and so hard that they were both worried that the other party could hear it. Shindou was also worried that the team would notice them and get the wrong idea. Shindou's brain was yelling at him to push Akane off, but he didn't want to listen to it.

''_I should push her off. If I don't do that my urge to kiss her will just increase…not that I would mind kissing her. I…I…'' _Shindou started leaning closer to Akane's face, until their faces were so close that one move forward would result in a kiss. _''What...what am I doing?'' _Shindou sighed and finally pushed Akane off, to the displeasure of both him and Akane. Despite being apart now, both of them were still evidently blushing and neither of them could look at each other anymore.

''I…have to go.'' Shindou said and left the bench in a hurry. Akane barely took notice of his leave, since she herself was shocked about the entire event as well. Midori let out a low whistle.

''Wow…I didn't expect that.'' Midori said and glanced at Akane who seemed to be frozen on the spot. ''Oi, Akane!'' Midori said and shook her a little, but she still didn't move. Midori waved her hand in front of Akane's eyes and after getting no reaction she sighed. ''I guess we lost her.''

Shindou's POV

''Why…Why did I do that?'' I asked from myself as I walked out of the school grounds. The school had already ended for the day anyway, so I didn't have to hang out there anymore. ''I should've pushed her off immediately, but I nearly kissed her instead! I'm so stupid!'' I scolded myself. I was glad that the streets were empty or someone could've thought I was crazy for talking to myself like that.

''_Why would I want to kiss her? I can say that I think she's pretty, but why would I want to kiss her? I hadn't even talked to her much before her visit to the hospital. I need to talk about this with someone.'' _As soon as I had thought about that my cellphone started ringing. I looked at the caller ID and smiled a little. It was Kirino.

''It's me.'' I said as I answered to the phone. Soon after I heard Kirino's worried voice.

''Shindou! Where are you? You just left the practice out of the blue.''

''…Can I meet up with you at the riverbank? I need to talk with you about something.''

''Huh? What do you mean? Why do you want to do that?''

''I'll explain there. Just come soon okay.''

''…Okay, I'll be there in couple minutes!''

Kirino hung up after that. I knew that he would be the best person to talk with about this 'problem'. I let out a small sigh and started walking towards the riverbank.

I reached the riverbank in couple minutes. It was empty aside from the two goalposts that have been there for ages. I regretted for a moment that I hadn't taken a soccer ball with me, but I knew that I shouldn't play anyway, since Kirino would be arriving soon. I sat down on the bench and started thinking again.

''_I hope he understands my dilemma and is able to help me understand why I wanted to kiss Akane. I mean…I can't possibly…''_

''Shindou!'' I was snapped out of my thoughts by Kirino's yell. I looked up to see Kirino walking towards me with a worried look on his face. ''What's wrong? Why did you want me to come here?'' Kirino asked as he sat down next to me on the bench. I didn't answer since I wasn't sure how I should word my problem. ''Shindou?'' Kirino said, this time being more confused than worried. I let out a long sigh and started to talk.

''There's a girl and I kind of…'' And that was all I got out before running out of words to say. To my surprise Kirino didn't look surprised at all.

''You're talking about Akane, right?'' Kirino asked with a small smile. I turned towards him confused, my eyes begging for an explanation. ''Kariya noticed what happened during practice between you and Akane and he for some reason felt like telling me about it.'' Kirino said little bit annoyed. Despite being on a same team with him for a while now, he still felt certain amount of animosity towards Kariya.

''During that time…I for some reason couldn't just push her away and I…I felt a strange need to kiss her. I almost did, but I pushed her off before anything could happen.'' I explained. I saw Kirino nod and both of us remained quiet after that for couple seconds, until Kirino spoke up again.

''Do you like her?'' Kirino asked. I didn't know could I answer that question. I certainly didn't dislike or hate Akane and I did think that she was pretty and I did have that strange need to kiss her. However I still wasn't sure about what I really felt about her. She's just…different.

''I don't know.'' I simply answered. It was the truth after all.

''In that case…I think you should take her on a date.'' Kirino said with a bright smile. I nearly lost my balance when he said that and I turned to look at him shocked.

''On a date? But aren't dates for couples?''

''Yes, yes they are and that's exactly why you should take her on one. A date would be the best way for you to solve out your feelings.'' Kirino said and I remained quiet. I admit that he did bring up a good point. Spending time with Akane shouldn't bring any harm. However I was still worried about something.

''But after what happened today…I don't know if I can.'' I said. I wasn't scared or anything, but I was worried that I had already made things awkward between us and that she would want to avoid me for a while.

''Well it's your decision.'' Kirino said and stood up from the bench. ''I've to go back to others. Just think about it, okay?'' Kirino said and with a wave of a hand, he walked off. _''About time you noticed her, Shindou.'' _Kirino thought as he left the field.

I stood up as well and started walking back home. I was thinking about what Kirino said and about Akane during the entire walk and before I knew it, I was back at home. Neither of my parents would be home yet and maids would be busy with their usual jobs, so I had time for myself. I walked straight to my room and walked next to my piano.

''Well…Might as well try it.'' I said to myself. Playing piano always made me feel better so I sat in front of it and started to play. Because of Holy Road and being stuck in the hospital, my skills were little rusty, but I could still play nearly perfectly. That is, until I started thinking about Akane again. My thoughts got distracted and suddenly I was hitting almost all the notes wrong. I stopped before my playing would get any worse…or before I would damage someone's ears. However that small session had made me certain of one fact.

''There's no denying it…I've to take Akane on a date.

…...

Yes, as you can see this is not a one-shot. Depending on how it goes, this might be a two-shot or a three-shot. I'm not entirely sure yet.

I don't think I've anything else to say here to be honest…so…Review if you liked, review if you didn't like!

This story's proverb of the day is: A date would be the best way for you to work out your feelings.


	2. Chapter 2

Okay…here's the second chapter! Thank you to everyone who reviewed/favorite/alerted/read/etc…I don't know why I said etc. since you can't do any other things to a story besides the first four…at least I think that you can't….anyway! I'm fairly certain that I don't own Inazuma Eleven GO and I'm fairly certain that I want you to enjoy!

…...

''Is she going to stand there for the rest of the day?'' Aoi asked somewhat concerned. Akane was still standing still; looking in the direction in which Shindou had ran off to. If it wasn't for occasional blinking, the two other managers would've thought that Akane had fainted standing up.

''Nah, I know an easy way to get her moving again, but I don't feel like doing it. I want to see how long this lasts.'' Midori said as she leaned back on the bench. Aoi however shot her an annoyed look due to the small amount of concern Midori had for her friend. After couple seconds of Aoi looking at her annoyed, Midori decided to do something. ''I was just kidding. This isn't the first time Akane has been lost in thought about Shindou so I know just the right away to get her attention.'' Midori explained as she stood up and inched closer to Akane. She moved her mouth close to her ear and…

''SHINDOU HAS A GIRLFRIEND!'' Midori yelled at the top of her lungs, causing Aoi and everyone on the soccer field to cover their ears in a failed attempt to deafen the sound. However, Midori's yell had the desired result as Akane almost instantly started moving.

''I really wish you would stop doing that.'' Akane said as she rubbed her ear. She wasn't alarmed by that sentence anymore as she was used to Midori yelling that to her whenever she wasn't paying attention to her…which, to be honest, didn't happen very often.

''Sorry, but I haven't figured out any other ways to get your attention yet.'' Midori said and then she glanced at the soccer field to see that everyone was looking at them. ''There's nothing to see here. We're talking about love, something you stupid boys wouldn't understand!'' Midori yelled and everyone decided that it was for the best to just leave them alone.

''I wouldn't argue with that statement anyway.'' Nishiki said with a small chuckle.

''So…Akane. How was it, being so close to Shindou's face?'' Midori asked teasingly. Akane blushed as she thought back to event that had only happened about 10 minutes ago.

''It was…'' Akane paused for a moment, looking for a word that would describe the moment, but she was unable come up with anything fitting. ''…indescribable, but it was just an accident. He wouldn't get that close to me on free will.'' Akane said with a sad sigh. She was disappointed that nothing had happened between her and Shindou, but she was even more disappointed about the fact that now she had to stay away from Shindou for at least a week to avoid any more awkward encounters.

''I can't believe you didn't act up. I pushed you towards him for a reason.'' Midori said, also sounding little disappointed. She was Akane's best friend, but sometimes it annoyed her how timid she could be.

''Sorry, but…Shin-Sama's eyes were so hypnotizing up close. I just…couldn't move. Besides, if I had…k-kissed him, it…it probably would've ended badly.'' Akane said quietly as she lifted her camera from the ground. Luckily for her, it wasn't badly damaged and it still functioned properly. She was about to focus back on the training when…

''Kirino-Senpai!'' Akane heard Tenma yell and she looked up from her camera to see Kirino walking towards the pitch. Some of the team members surrounded him since they were worried about Shindou's behavior. ''Did you talk with Shindou-Senpai? Is he okay?'' Tenma asked worried.

''He's fine. He was just still little stressed and tired after being released from the hospital so he went home to rest. He told me that you don't have to worry about him and that he would be at school tomorrow.'' Kirino explained. He didn't want to tell them the actual reason since he was sure that Shindou wouldn't appreciate that.

''I see…I hope that he's okay.'' Sangoku said, still feeling little worried about their ex-captain. Others were worried as well, but they believed their ace defender and returned back to their practice. Kirino was about to join them, but then another voice interrupted her.

''Kirino-kun?'' Kirino turned around to see Akane who was looking little worried.

''Akane…'' Kirino said silently and little nervously. He didn't really want to talk with her right now since he was afraid that he might accidentally say something about Shindou's feelings. ''What is it?''

''Did…did Shin-sa…Shindou-kun, mention me?'' Akane said, hoping that Kirino hadn't noticed her little slip-up…and that if Shindou had mentioned her, it would be something positive.

Kirino wasn't sure how to answer. On the other hand, he could lie and say that he hadn't mentioned her, but that would be mean and he wasn't that good of a liar while on the other hand…there was nothing bad about saying that Shindou had mentioned Akane. Of course she had pretty much been the topic of their conversation, but Akane didn't need to know that…yet.

''He did mention you, couple times.'' Kirino said and as soon as he said that, he saw Akane's eyes light up. He had to admit that she looked…kind of pretty like that. He didn't like her (luckily since he really wouldn't want to compete with Shindou over a girl), but he could see why Shindou was…interested in her.

''H-He did?' Akane asked happily. However her happiness died down a little when she realized that Shindou probably mentioned her because of the…accident. ''What exactly did he say?'' Akane asked, sounding both worried and excited.

Kirino knew that he couldn't tell her what Shindou had said since he wanted the date to be a surprise. So instead, he changed the subject.

''You love Shindou, don't you?'' Kirino asked with a small smile. The question caught Akane off-guard and she started blushing almost instantly.

''W-What? I-I-I don't…I mean….how?'' Akane tried to come up with something sensible, but was unable to do so. To be honest, she wasn't that surprised that Kirino knew about her feelings. She showed her emotions quite openly and Kirino was one of the smartest guys on the team.

''I noticed during our match against Mannoukaza. I was benched during that match so I noticed that you took pictures quite often. It took me couple minutes to realize that you were mostly taking pictures when Shindou had the ball…and I heard you talk with Aoi and Midori and I noticed that you called Shindou, Shin-Sama. It wasn't hard to figure out.'' Kirino said with a small chuckle as he noticed Akane's blush get little redder.

''I do love him, but he has never even noticed me and before he ended up in hospital I had hardly ever talked to him. There's no way he has feelings for me.'' Akane said with a sad sigh. Kirino felt that he should make her feel better since he knew that Shindou had…some kind of feelings for Akane. It should be fine to tell her as long as he didn't reveal too much.

''You've caught his attention for sure so I don't think you've to worry. When he's not under pressure he's good at hiding his emotions.'' Kirino said and he saw Akane's eyes light up again. He knew that Akane wanted to talk more about this, but he didn't want to reveal more. ''I've to get back to training. It was good talking with you.'' Kirino said and he ran to the others. Akane smiled a little and looked up contently.

''Shin-Sama is thinking about me…''

Unknown to both Kirino and Akane, one certain first-year had been listening on their conversation. This first-year had a teal-colored hair and he loved to mess with people. Obviously, it was Kariya Masaki.

''So, my hunch was correct. There's something between Shindou-Senpai and Akane-Senpai. This will be fun…well for me at least.'' Kariya said with a cunning smirk. _''Well, I've to visit Raimon's Newspaper Club after practice.''_

,,,,,

As soon as he had decided to ask Akane out, he ran into another problem…how to do it? He had no experience in something like this and he doubted that he could just go up to her and casually ask her out while saying that he needs to do it to sort out his feelings. He didn't even want to imagine what would happen if he did that. He ran his fingers through his hair as he thought about his new dilemma. He thought about asking Kirino for help again, but he doubted that he had any experience in dating either.

''What should I do…'' Shindou asked from no one in particular. As soon as he had said that, he heard the front door open.

''Are you home Takuto?'' A voice from the front door asked. Shindou recognized that voice instantly. It belonged to her mother, Shindou Wakana. (Wa means harmony, kana means play music.)

''Mom? She shouldn't be home yet.'' Shindou said to himself. However he then had another thought. His mother could be the best person to tell him how to ask a girl out. Of course she will most likely (actually, definitely) tease him about it, but he was willing to risk it. He walked out of the door of the music room and walked to the front door where his mother was waiting. (You can imagine what she looks like) ''Mom. I thought you wouldn't come home until later.''

''Of course I come home early when my son has got out from the hospital. C'mon, give me a hug.'' Wakana said and opened her arms. Shindou smiled a bit and gave his mother what she wanted. However his mother immediately noticed something was off. Shindou wasn't hugging her like he usually did. At first she thought that it was because of his injury, but she doubted that it could affect his hugging. She immediately let go of him, in order to find out what was going on.

''Okay Takuto. What are you hiding?'' Wakana asked with a serious look on her face. Shindou was surprised that she could notice that something was wrong with him so easily.

''N-Nothing's wrong.'' Shindou stuttered, but his mother could see right through him.

''_Takuto doesn't lie that often so this has to be important. He wouldn't lie about his soccer career or about his school studies…but he would lie about girls! He likes someone!'' _Wakana thought with a mischievous smile. Shindou saw this smile and got even more nervous. Wakana walked to the living room and she signaled Shindou to follow. Shindou did so reluctantly, having a bad feeling about the conversation that was about to start.

''So…you mentioned that you were going to visit school today. Did something special happen…maybe with someone special?'' Wakana asked as she sat down on the couch and Shindou quickly sat down as well.

''N-Nothing happened. I-I just watched the training for a little while, that's all.'' Shindou said, still sounding as nervous as before. Wakana just sighed. She didn't understand how her son could believe that she bought his lying.

''Fine, I just cut to the chase then. Who's the girl?'' Wakana asked, but she continued before Shindou could answer. ''And don't tell me there isn't one! I'm your mother and I know when there's a girl involved.'' Wakana asked sternly. Shindou sighed a little. He should've known that his mother didn't believe his lies. _''Maybe this is for the best. I do need help with this.''_

''Her name is Yamane Akane and she's one of the football club's managers. Also she is probably the sweetest and kindest person I know.'' Shindou said with a small blush. _''She's also the prettiest, but I'm going to keep that to myself.'' _Wakana sighed disappointed when she heard this.

''Football club's manager…I think you could do better.'' Wakana said and Shindou looked at her both surprised and little angry. ''I mean, I'm sure that there are lot of other girls in your school that are more…successful for the lack of a better word. I'm sure they're lot prettier too.'' Wakana said. Shindou couldn't believe it. His own mother was trying to talk him out of lik…being interested in someone.

''Impossible. There's no one prettier than her.'' _''So much for keeping that to myself.'' _''Besides…I already planned to ask her out for a date to…find out if I've any strong feelings for her.'' Shindou said and he saw her mother sigh again.

''Fine…I'll accept this girl…if you bring her home after your date. I want to meet her personally so I can judge if she's good enough for you.'' Wakana said and Shindou frowned a little. Seeing Shindou's frown, Wakana continued talking. ''I just want you to date someone fitting. You're ex-captain of soccer club and a very gifted pianist. I don't want you to date someone…unworthy.''

Shindou was still frowning since he thought that Akane was worthy, but he knew that he couldn't change his mother's mind now. He just had to take Akane home after their date. ''Fine, but can you give me some advice now. How should I ask Akane out?'' Shindou asked starting to sound little nervous again. Wakana decided to help him out for now even if she didn't like the girl he was going out with.

''Well, the most important thing is to not just go to girl's house and ask her out. That's too sudden and it might bad time for the girl. Also don't call her and ask her out. That's not romantic enough.''

''Okay…just out of curiosity, how did dad ask you out?''

''He came to my house and asked me out.'' Wakana answered and Shindou shot her a confused look. ''I never said it doesn't work, I just said that you shouldn't do it. You should just ask her out in school while she's alone. That's your best chance.'' Wakana said and Shindou made a mental note to do that tomorrow. He knew that it shouldn't be hard to get Akane alone since she was alone most of time…when she was not with Midori that is.

''Okay, but what kind of date should it be. I…don't really know much about her interests.'' Shindou said, feeling little disappointed about the fact. He had never made any effort to know her better so he had no idea what she liked outside of soccer and photographing.

''That may not matter much during the first date. First date can be simple, like a movie or a dinner in a restaurant that's not too 'I throw around money' fancy, but not too 'I can only afford this' cheap either. Or if you want something really simple, first date can be a walk in a park and I mean that literally. Sometimes a moonlight walk is all you need to start a romance.'' Wakana said with a dreamy sigh. Shindou thought about his options and he knew that he would've to think this overnight.

''Thanks mom. I think about this.'' Shindou said and left the living room with his head filled with Akane-related thoughts. Wakana smiled faintly after him.

''I certainly hope that this Akane girl is worth all this effort.

,,,,,

''I'm going now. Bye!'' Shindou said as he left from his house next morning. Normally he would get a ride to school, but his dad was on a business trip, his mother didn't drive and he didn't want to bother their butler with such a trivial request, so his only option was walking.

''Have fun!'' His mother yelled back.

His walk to the school was very uneventful. During the entire walk he was thinking about how to ask Akane out. He didn't want to scare her and ask her out of the blue after all. Then again, if he sounded too blunt about it, then that would sound like he doesn't really want to go on a date. But then again…

''Shindou!'' Shindou stopped his train of thoughts to see that Kirino was right in front of him. He hadn't even noticed that he had passed the place where he and Kirino meet up if he had to walk to school. ''What's wrong?'' Kirino asked little concerned.

''Akane.'' Shindou said quietly and that was all Shindou needed to say for Kirino to understand what the situation was about. ''I'm just thinking how to ask her out...After what happened yesterday, I'm not sure how I should do it.''

''Well…I don't have any personal experience, but you should just act like you usually do. I doubt there are any special ways to ask a girl out.'' Kirino said and Shindou nodded in agreement. Even if there was a special way to ask a girl out, he didn't have time to learn it.

''I just wish I knew more about her. That would make this so much easier.''

''Then the date should be perfect chance to do that. You can ask all kind of things about her. I don't think you should be worried.'' Kirino said, but then he realized something. Shindou was worried about something else entirely. ''Are you thinking about rejection?'' Kirino asked, once again sounding a bit concerned. Shindou was surprised that Kirino was able to read him so well, but eventually he nodded.

''It's just…if I've strong feelings for her and if I confess and if she doesn't feel the same…I wouldn't know what to do. Going to soccer practice would become awkward, not to mention any random encounters in the school. It's the same other way around. If I don't have any strong feelings for her and if she by some chance confesses and I reject her…the result would be the same.'' Shindou said, starting to feel little unsure about the thing. Kirino wasn't sure how to respond to this, but eventually he said something back.

''You just have to take a risk. Thinking about ifs will eventually limit all your choices and you find yourself in a dead end. At that point, no choice will help you get the life you want. That's probably why people take risks.'' Kirino said and for the first time during their walk, he could see Shindou smile a little.

''Thanks. I really needed that.'' Shindou said and for the rest of the walk, the two talked about other subjects such as Holy Road and school studies and before they knew it, they were at Raimon Junior High.

''So, are you asking her now or after school?'' Kirino asked as he and Shindou entered the school grounds. As soon as they entered, some people around them started to whisper amongst themselves, but neither Kirino nor Shindou paid attention to them.

''After school. That way there won't be as many people around.'' Shindou answered. As they continued to walk, even more people started to whisper and some of them even yelled congratulations to Shindou. While Shindou thought it was because of their victory in Holy Road, in reality it was something much different.

''Shindou-Senpai!'' An extremely energetic voice yelled. Shindou didn't even have to turn around to know that the owner of that voice was Tenma. He and Shinsuke were running towards them, both very excited about something.

''Good morning Tenma and Shinsuke. Why are you so excited?'' Kirino asked. While it was normal to see those two being excited over something, this level of excitement was little unusual. Tenma grinned widely as he turned his attention to Shindou.

''Shindou-Senpai…are you and Akane-Senpai really dating?!'' Tenma asked excitedly. Both Kirino and Shindou were visibly surprised and Shindou even started blushing a little.

''W-What? Where did you hear that?'' Shindou asked flustered. Tenma just smiled more and gave him the Raimon Newspaper he had been carrying. The Raimon Newspaper was a rather small newspaper by Raimon's Newspaper Club and it always told about recent stories and events in Raimon. Despite being small and mostly student-based newspaper it was still very trustworthy most of the time. Shindou took it and on the front page it read…

''Romance blossoming between Football club's ex-captain and shy manager! '' Shindou said surprised and he immediately opened the newspaper to read more info on this. He skimmed through most of it though there was one part that particularly stuck out for him. ''We'd like to thank First-Year Kariya Masaki for giving us this information and the proof that this relationship is indeed real.''

''KARIYA!''

….

Yeah…this story turns out to be longer than I intended. That's both a good thing…and a bad thing. On the other hand, at least this chapter was…fairly long. So it was probably worth the wait…hopefully. The next wait won't be so long…hopefully.

And yes, Kariya has a somewhat important role in this story. He's one of my favorite characters so that's why I had to give him something to do in this story. Don't expect other members to have big roles though.

Okay that's all then! Review if you liked, review if you didn't like!

This story's proverb of the day is: Thinking about ifs will eventually limit all your choices and you find yourself in a dead end.

…I forgot why I started doing that proverb thing.


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